Hello everyone! I'm Mike, First I want to thank all of those who where kind enough to post solutions to problems for all to see. My intent is to post the problems i have had with mine and the solutions+part numbers. I have been tinkering with vehicles for a while now, mostly a problematic high-mileage S-10. About a month ago my neighbor offered me a 2002 Oldsmobile Intrigue for a price I could not refuse. When i singed the title i knew of a only a few problems. I bought it knowing it had been sitting for 3-4 months after being daily-driven. I knew the battery light was on, and that the driver window and heated seat didn't work. After it was all said and done, I replaced:
Alternator
Custom bigger battery cables
Battery
Front valve cover gasket
thermostat housing + thermostat
Surge Tank + cap
Coolant crossover gaskets
Driver window regulator
hazard blinker assemble
Fuel filter, Oil change, PCV valve, air filter
Spark plugs
Throttle body cleaned + both gaskets
Cabin air filter
Replaced broken wire in drive heated seat curcit
Replaced blow rear speakers.
Cleaned, Cleaned, Cleaned!
OK I'm going to break it up into each part/area fixed. most pictures include the old/new parts.
The very First thing i did was replace the battery hoping i didn't need to replace the alternator, also the cabin air filter.
Cabin air filter: PN CAF-1706
What this is, is a per-cursor to the entire thread, It looked like the filter has never ever been replaced.
After stranding myself I knew definitively that i need to replace the alternator, so as I tore into it I found more issues, and things that needed to be replaced.
Alternator: Duralast gold PN: DLG1801 My guess it died due to age and the leak from the front valve cover gasket.
Battery cables: one-off from Innovative Wiring
Alternator Connection, Left is new(2ga) right is old(6ga):
Fuse box:
Left is new(2ga) middle is old(6ga) right is factory alternator supply wire(8-10ga)
For those of you experiencing flickering lights, I can guarantee that the problem lies is the factory cables, they are just to small and poorly designed. The cables I had built are bigger gauged and connect the alternator directly to the battery with 2Ga, whereas the the factory goes:
Battery - 6ga - fuse box connector - 8ga(fuseable link) - 6ga - alternator
Have not had any flickering or dimming lights yet
Front valve cover gasket: PN: VS50597R
ACDelco Thermostat Housing: PN: 15-10570
Notice all of that crud? I bet you a dollar someone put those stop-leak tabs in the cooling system. While it may have stopped the leak, it plugs up the cooling system in the process; I dont think the dex-cool helped either.
ACDelco Surge Tank: PN: 10405607
old:
New:
Coolant crossover gaskets: Fel-pro PN 35722 (Called thermostat housing gaskets at autozone)
Look closely in this picture: Notice the dog leash? I used that to pull the crossover pipe away from the bolt (twoard the driver side) to get clearance.
Notice I shortened a bolt, I did this so I could re-install it without much fuss.
Almost 100 miles on the repair and still holding strong!
Driver window regulator: pn: Doorman 741-637
Yup, I was pissed.
Broken cables, so instead of replacing they shoved a piece of wood in it!
ACDelco Hazard switch: Pn: 10401280
This is the old one torn apart, couldn’t see any damage but the new part fixed my intermediate blinkers.
ACDelco Spark plugs: PN: 41-980
Yup, those are Autolites! they where trashed too, unknown mileage on them. Note: Never ever EVER put anything besides ACDelco plugs in a stock GM engine. Problems will arise if you don't.
Throttle body gaskets: Fel-pro 61306 + 61304
Before
after
PCV Valve: PN: PCV1125DL
Broken wire in driver heated seat:
After using my DVOM, I discovered this, after repairing the wire my heated seat works great!
After all of that work, I then scuffed and spray-painted some engine brackets to make em look shiny, and this is what I ended up with:
the next step was to clean the exterior, after 3 baths, mostly waxed and a lot of elbow grease, here she is:
Well that is all for now. I need to replenish the funds before I tackle the next upgrades:
06+ impala brake upgrade, GMPP sway bar, fixing the AC and find the mysterious rattling by the serpentine belt area.
feel free to leave comments good or bad, hope this helps!